Eva Silverstein Professor of Physics

CONTACT INFORMATION • Administrative Contact Julie L Shih Email [email protected]

Bio

BIO What are the basic degrees of freedom and interactions underlying gravitational and particle physics? What is the mechanism behind the initial seeds of structure in the universe, and how can we test it using cosmological observations? Is there a holographic framework for cosmology that applies throughout the history of the universe, accounting for the effects of horizons and singularities? What new phenomena arise in quantum field theory in generic conditions such as finite density, temperature, or in time dependent backgrounds?

Professor Silverstein attacks basic problems in several areas of theoretical physics. She develops concrete and testable mechanisms for cosmic inflation, accounting for its sensitivity to very high energy physics. This has led to a fruitful interface with cosmic microwave background research, contributing to a more systematic analysis of its observable phenomenology. Professor Silverstein also develops mechanisms for breaking supersymmetry and for stabilizing the extra dimensions of string theory to model the immense hierarchies between the cosmological horizon, electroweak, and Planck scales in nature. In addition, Professor Silverstein uses the ultraviolet completion of gravity afforded by string theory to address questions of quantum gravity, such as singularity resolution and the physics of black hole and cosmological horizons. Professor Silverstein also uses modern techniques in quantum field theory to model strongly coupled phenomena motivated by measurements in condensed matter physics.

Areas of focus: - UV complete mechanisms and systematics of cosmic inflation, including string-theoretic versions of large-field inflation (with gravity wave CMB signatures) and novel mechanisms involving inflaton interactions (with non-Gaussian signatures in the CMB)

-Systematic theory and analysis of primordial Non-Gaussianity, taking into account strongly non-linear effects in quantum field theory encoded in multi-point correlation functions -Long-range interactions in string theory and implications for black hole physics - Concrete holographic models of de Sitter expansion in string theory, aimed at upgrading the AdS/CFT correspondence to cosmology - Mechanisms for non-Fermi liquid transport and $2k_F$ singularities from strongly coupled finite density quantum field theory - Mechanisms by which the extra degrees of freedom in string theory induce transitions and duality symmetries between spaces of different topology and dimensionality

Page 1 of 3 Eva Silverstein http://cap.stanford.edu/profiles/Eva_Silverstein/

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS • Professor, Physics

ADMINISTRATIVE APPOINTMENTS • Postdoctoral Fellow, Rutgers University, (1996-1997) • Permanent Member and Visiting Professor of Physics, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, (2009-2010) • Assistant Professor, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, Stanford University, (1997-2001) • Associate Professor, Stanford University, SLAC and Physics Department, (2001-2006) • Professor, Stanford University, SLAC and Physics Department, (2006-2017) 5 OF 6

HONORS AND AWARDS • Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) • Investigator, Simons Foundation (2017) • Fellow, American Physical Society (2016) • Bergmann Memorial Award, Israel-U.S. Binational Science Foundation (2000) • Fellowship, MacArthur Foundation (1999-2004) 5 OF 7

BOARDS, ADVISORY COMMITTEES, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS • Advisory Board, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Gravity and Cosmology • PI, Simons Foundation Origins of the Universe program, Modern Inflationary Cosmology (2017 - present) • General Member, Aspen Center for Physics (2015 - 2020) • Coordinator, KITP Primordial Cosmology program and conference (2013 - 2013) • Co-director, ICTP Spring School (2011 - 2013) • Advisory Council, Princeton University Department of Physics (2009) 5 OF 10

PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION • B.A., Harvard University , Physics (1992) • PhD., Princeton University , Physics (1996)

LINKS • ArXiv papers: http://arxiv.org/find/all/1/all:+silverstein/0/1/0/all/0/1

Teaching

COURSES 2021-22 • Quantum Field Theory II: PHYSICS 331 (Win) • Quantum Field Theory III: PHYSICS 332 (Spr)

2020-21 • Foundations of Modern Physics: PHYSICS 70 (Aut)

Page 2 of 3 Eva Silverstein http://cap.stanford.edu/profiles/Eva_Silverstein/ • Quantum Field Theory III: PHYSICS 332 (Spr)

2019-20 • Foundations of Modern Physics: PHYSICS 70 (Aut) • Quantum Field Theory III: PHYSICS 332 (Spr)

2018-19 • Quantum Field Theory III: PHYSICS 332 (Spr)

STANFORD ADVISEES Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)

Marios Galanis, Xinghe Li, Anirudh Prabhu, Jed Thompson

Postdoctoral Faculty Sponsor

Giuseppe Bruno De Luca, Jorrit Kruthoff, Vasudev Shyam

Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)

Evan Coleman, Dayshon Mathis, Sungyeon Yang

Publications

PUBLICATIONS • T(T)over-bar and EE, with implications for (A)dS subregion encodings JOURNAL OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS Lewkowycz, A., Liu, J., Silverstein, E., Torroba, G. 2020 • dS/dS and T(T)over-bar JOURNAL OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS Gorbenko, V., Silverstein, E., Torroba, G. 2019 • De Sitter holography and entanglement entropy JOURNAL OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS Dong, X., Silverstein, E., Torroba, G. 2018 • Joseph Gerard Polchinski Jr OBITUARY PHYSICS TODAY Marolf, D., Silverstein, E. 2018; 71 (5): 66 • Productive interactions: heavy particles and non-Gaussianity JOURNAL OF COSMOLOGY AND ASTROPARTICLE PHYSICS Flauger, R., Mirbabayi, M., Senatore, L., Silverstein, E. 2017

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